


the freedom, the falling, the feeling i thought was set in stone

by nosecoffee



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: A LOT of Angst, Angst, Blizzards, Extended Metaphors, Fighting, Fluff, He could murder me and I'd say thanks, Jughead Jones the King of Big Grand Gestures, M/M, Marriage, Memories, i just love Jughead so much, planes, vague seperation, why do I make them suffer jfc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-03-06
Packaged: 2018-09-28 16:37:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10138385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nosecoffee/pseuds/nosecoffee
Summary: Jughead can't even remember what they were fighting about.He can remember clearly, the last time they fought. Remembers the day they made up."You drove fifteen hours straight to be with me?""Yeah. I think I saw a double rainbow, and I listened to a podcast and now I think I believe in aliens."





	

**Author's Note:**

> Title from 'Waves' by Dean Lewis (featured at the end of 1x04 btw)
> 
> I needed to write me some metaphor-heavy angst so here you go. This was low-key inspired by Rainbow Rowell's book 'Landline', go ahead and check it out. It's a hard book, but totally worth it, in the end.
> 
> I've finished advertising.

He's tired of this. He's tired of pretending he's okay with this.

Because, well, here he is, in LA, and Archie's there, in Riverdale and it's just after New Years so he should be happy.

And this was never supposed to happen.

It's not supposed to happen like this.

He sits up, and the air is cold and the sheets are cold and its _so fucking cold_ and he wonders if the airports are still open on a night like this.

He takes a chance.

~

The airport is cold, too.

It seems like everything is, now.

He hugs his jacket tighter around him, wiggling his toes to keep his feet from going all tingly.

The woman standing behind the counter at the ticket place looks cold, too.

Jughead hasn't got anything with him. He honestly didn't think he'd get this far, but he's booked on a plane to just outside town, where he can ride the train in.

If the train's still running.

God, he's been away too long.

He never wanted them to end up like their parents but all it took was one fight and Archie up and left him. Muttering a 'Merry Christmas' under his breath as he rolled his suitcase out the door.

Kissed Jughead on the cheek, said he'd be back for New Years.

He didn't come back for New Years.

The look in his eyes said that he couldn't forgive this.

Jughead's phone is dead.

~

Jughead can't even remember what they were fighting about.

He can remember clearly, the last time they fought. Remembers the day they made up.

_"You drove fifteen hours straight to be with me?"_

_"Yeah. I think I saw a double rainbow, and I listened to a podcast and now I think I believe in aliens."_

~

It is snowing so hard. He wonders if they'll be able to take off in this weather, and dismisses it as they are told to fasten their seat belts and turn off their phones.

There's actually only a few people on the plane.

Jughead wonders why they're running a plane service in the middle of a very small blizzard. Wonders who's still in town, and if Archie's at his dad's, or Betty and Veronica's, or, on the off chance, Kevin's.

Wonders where Jellybean is.

~

They're delayed on the runway, after landing.

Stuck there for half an hour while they figure something out. Something about safety.

At this point, Jughead's actually ready to jump out of the plane.

He leans over the aisle and asks the woman next to him if she has a phone.

She gives it to him.

He calls Archie first.

No answer.

Then he calls Jellybean, it goes straight to voicemail, and he stutters out some seasons greetings for her to wake up to.

He's forgotten Veronica's number, so he calls Betty. She's the one that picks up.

"This is Betty, how can I help you?"

"It's literally 6 am how can you be so bright?"

"Jughead? Hey. Archie said you weren't coming this year. Ron was really bummed. So was Jelly."

Something sour in his stomach flips.

"Really sorry about that, I just wanted to know where everyone was."

Betty takes on a suspicious tone. "Why?"

"So I can imagine I'm there?"

"Archie's at his dad's, Jelly's with them."

"Thanks Betty. You're gold."

"Whatever, just don't break his heart."

"I think I might have already."

There's a pause. And then, "Jug."

"Don't. I'm fine. I'm gonna fix it."

"Whatever you say."

Betty hangs up and he gives his phone back to the woman. Thanks her quietly.

~

Once he's off the plane, he realises his mistake. The train is quiet and dark.

The woman from the plane and a man stroll by.

Jughead bites his lip, readying himself for a long walk if they refuse.

"I'm sorry," he says, tapping the man on the shoulder. "Would you mind giving me a lift to Riverdale?"

The two share a look.

The man shrugs. "Sure. S'not too far out of our way."

~

This isn't the first time they've fought like this.

But the last time, Jughead did show up at Archie's door after driving fifteen hours straight, and asked him to marry him.

Jelly used to call him the 'King of Big Grand Gestures' after that. That, he thinks, is the best Christmas he's ever had.

This time, there's no ring in his pocket, and the couple drops him off in the snow outside the Andrews house.

He wonders how on Earth he can fix this.

It's bordering on 7 am, he knows after checking the clock in the car, so he really doesn't mind going up the porch steps and knocking loudly at the door.

There's a commotion inside, it had been there before he knocked, even, and he hears Archie's voice yell, "I'll get it!" And it actually hurts his heart just a little to hear it again, after weeks of silence.

He opens the door and Jughead thinks maybe his face falls.

"I, uh..." Jughead rubs his arm, bites his lip, unsure of how to tell him that he came running once he acknowledged how dumb he'd been. "I didn't drive fifteen hours to be here, this time, but I sat in an airport for a couple of hours, that's for sure. And it was really cold. It's still really cold."

Archie's staring at him with an unreadable expression. He reaches out, slowly, runs a hand down the inside of Jughead's arm and presses their palms together, feeling the cold of Jughead's against the warmth of his own.

"You're here," he whispers and he smiles a little, looking like he's about to burst into tears.

"Yeah. Realised what an idiot I was." He wonders again if there is a way on Earth to fix this. "I didn't want to be alone anymore - I don't want to be alone again. Didn't realise that until you were gone, and I should've chased you sooner. I don't know why I didn't. Think I might be too proud, and maybe that's why I let you leave in the first place."

Jughead exhales slowly. "I don't want to let you leave again. I don't want to have to watch you walk away again. This is supposed to be forever and I helped you convince me it wasn't. I'm not doing that again."

Archie is crying - even after years Jughead's not sure whether it's a good thing - and Jughead presses Archie's hand between both of his, because that's always been something he's done.

It's familiar, and it's theirs, and he's so fucking tired of being alone, and sad, and cold.

He's tired.

~

Jughead wonders if perhaps he sunk into a depression when Archie left.

Wonders if perhaps Jellybean will still call him the King of Big Grand Gestures after rushing to Archie to fix things. After rushing to an airport, in the snow, in his pyjama's, because he was lonely and sad and had realised all his mistakes in a rush, in the middle of the night and the middle of a blizzard.

He wonders all this, Archie's head pillowed on his chest, while they lie in his childhood bed that night, too small for Archie as a teenager, much too small for two adults.

He wonders this while Archie sleeps. Wonders if he's an unreliable narrator of sorts for being so tired.

He's wide awake, now.

Fin.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, I really hope you enjoyed this. If you did, please feel free to leave a comment and/or a kudos, and track me down on Tumblr @nose-coffee. Again, thank you!


End file.
